Some preachers erroneously stated that year 2000 was going to be 2000 years since Christ's birth and Christ would probably return in 2000. Some engaged in "headline theology," citing sensational evils and tragedies and reasoning that surely Christ is going to intervene soon to punish the world. Some preachers speculated that Y2K computer traumas were going to be used by God to trigger the apocalyptic punishments of God's judgment on a wicked world.

Now that the year 2000 is here and no apocalyptic disasters have occurred, there is a collective sigh of relief. But with that relief comes disbelief in the Bible. People were told the Bible predicted certain things, and they didn't happen. Disillusionment is setting in. Many undoubtedly feel embarrassed and even resentful for having been deluded.

Bible teachers undoubtedly had a variety of motives. Some were opportunists wanting to capitalize on millennial fever to sell books or emergency supplies. Others exploited people's fears and hopes in an effort to increase church attendance. But many were undoubtedly quite sincere.

The main problem is not motives but the tragic result of false predictions--the Bible's loss of credibility in people's minds. People naturally tend to become skeptical and cynical when the messages supposedly based on the Bible turn out to be untrue. As a result, they often not only reject false Bible interpretations, they reject the Bible itself.

God is angry with false teachers who misrepresent Him and His Word. He inspired Jeremiah to write, "Behold, I am against the prophets," says the LORD, "who use their tongues and say, 'He says.' Behold, I am against those who prophesy false dreams," says the LORD, "and tell them, and cause My people to err by their lies and their recklessness. Yet I did not send them or command them; therefore they shall not profit this people at all" (Jeremiah 23:31-32).